In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful
THE ROADMAP FOR UMMAH TO COME OUT OF ITS
MESS
[In the light of Verses 125 -128 of Surah Al-Nahal]
[Shamim A Siddiqi,
Explanation of the
Verses:
V. 125: “Udwu ila sabeel-e-Rabbeka” [You call the people to way of your Lord -
Sustainer}: Direct address to Rasulullah *S) in imperative mood and to Ummah
through him (S); a common directive for Muslims – a life long pursuit
- Bil Hikmah” with wisdom: time, place, individual state of mind, Edu. status; in
gradual stages; starting from common denomination; [Ref: Methodology]
- wal Mauzatul Hasna: selection of understandable topic, soft-spoken words;
tone; politeness; no animosity, No aggressiveness; love& concern; no heated
discussion; simple style, creating lasting impression on him/her that you are
his/her well-wisher, always leaving the chance to come back
- wa Jadilhum billati heya ahsan: In case of difference, be polite, argue with
fine ways of talking
- Allah knows who will get the guidance and who will go astray: guidance comes
from Allah alone; it comes only who seek it from Him; it is in Allah’s
Knowledge who will get it and who will not.
V. 126: If you resolve to punish your opponents, and then punish
them only to the extent they have caused damage to you; but if you prefer to
have patience [Sabr on their opposition]
it would be better for the Sabreen [one who faces it with Sabr]
V.
127: Endure it
with patience and [You know] your patience [Sabr] is [possible] only from Allah
[“wa ma sabaruka illa billah”]:
- “Wa-la-tahzan alaihim”: [Have no grief for them]
- “Wa la-taku fi zaiqin mimma yamkroon”: Grieve not for them and be not in distress because of what they devise:
Explanatory Note: Muslims
should not feel disheartened over the anti-Muslim activities of the Batil;
They are there to harass Muslims but we
have bear it with Sabr and go on building the qualities of Sabr and
perseverance in our character. We should not become reactionaries and waste our
energies but concentrate over our mission without any deviation to any side.
Batil will always be prepared to involve us in reactionary activities so that
we forget our mission. What we see around us is just the game of “action and
reaction” in the Muslim world. We are playing the game of Batil, forgetting our
mission and its positive game plan of Dawah Ilallah and, hence we are no where.
V. 128: Allah is with those who are Allah conscious [fear Allah] and those who are doers of good – Mohseneen:
- Fear Allah: Ref: Ayah Al-Birr [Al-Baqarah -177]
- Mohseneen: Ref: Al-Ankabut – Verse 69: The highest order in Islamic order and closest place to Allah. Allah love Mohseneen.
- Who are the Mohseneen? “Ehsan” [Ref: Hadith-e-Jibreel} If you cannot see Allah, at least think: Allah is watching you – You are in His constant vigilance
EVALUATION OF THESE
VERSES:
Following is the
Inherent Message of these Verses:
Through these Verses, Allah (SWT) has prescribed a Roadmap for Muslim Ummah in a very precise and concise way, spelling out the program to establish the authority of Allah - His Deen, in this world on the following lines:
1. Inviting the people of the time to the fold of Allah with Hikmah and “Mauezatul Hasna” [Dawah, organization and Tarbiyah are the integral part of this process] on regular and constant basis. [All these terminologies have been explained above]
2. Carrying out the job entrusted with Sabr. With no retaliation under any circumstances;
3. Creating in its wake an effective team of Da’ees and mass sympathy in the face of stiff opposition from the vested interests of the time.
4. Preparing, its own field and inviting/attracting Batil to play in it, letting loose the onslaught of trial and tribulation and providing the basic opportunity to Da’ees to polish their character and develop intrinsic values in his or her life;
5. Making Batil furious to comes time and again and attack the followers of Islam both on individual and collective levels, striking its head with the character and solidarity of organized Muslims Jamaah that fears Allah alone, getting the Batil exhausted as it became after the Battle of Trenches and succumbed to the forces of Haq with the Treaty of Hudaibiyah;
6. Thus, Islam prepares its own playground and invites the Batil to play in it. In this process, Islam does not react to the plans of Batil, does not “react” to the conspiracies of Kufr and Shirk but carries out its mission in augmenting the number of its followers, building character of Mohseneen, ultimately defeating the forces of Batil at every place: Subsequently, Makkah was conquered, Idolaters of Arabian Peninsula surrendered, Ahlul Kitab [people of scriptures] accepted the authority of Islam by paying Jaziyah and becoming “sagheroon” [lower in strata].
7. The Roadmap: Dawah, Organization, Tarbiyah [Training],
Peaceful Resistance, Hijrah and Qital to remove the diehard apposition at the
end if any left. Through this process, the Prophet (S) of Allah established
the Deen of Allah in his time and through the same process we can do it today.
In fact, Muslims prepare their own ground and Batil comes to crush it but in
consequence, Batil crushed its own head and Haq becomes dominant working
through the provisions of the Roadmap as Allah ordains: Have patience, have no grief for the Batil and don’t care for the
conspiracies that they hatch against the Muslim Ummah. [Verse
127]. Your Character bearing Taqwah and the role model of a Muhsin will
prevail ultimately as Allah showers His blessings on them [Verse 128]
8. However, unfortunately, Muslims have left this role and the position of inviting Batil to play in its playground long ago. Rather, we are playing on the turf of Batil forces, leaving our ground far behind. Batil is creating problems day in and day out and we are just busy as Ummah at each level to “react” against each action of Batil and are wasting our energy, talents and resources with the result that the real task of calling the humans to the fold of Allah is neglected or is not being carried out to its logical conclusion.
9. As a result, we the Muslims have become only “reactionary” people and have lost every thing in this foolish pursuit. Batil is happy that it has deviated us and deprived us unconsciously with our weapons of Dawah with Hikmah, Sabr and building the character of Mohseneen.
10. Conclusion: If we stop to react today, do our job of Dawah Ilallah that is assigned to us as top priority of our life, “closed” our eyes “knowingly” from the game plans of secular and liberal world, understanding clearly that we cannot solve any of the problems that are being created by these evil forces at home and abroad, except working through the Roadmap that Allah (SWT) has envisaged for this Ummah in these four comprehensive concluding Verses of Surah al-Nahal. This is the concise and very precise message that Muslims must draw from these Verses to defeat the Batil all around and salvage the fate of Ummah to brighter future.
May Allah give us Tawfeeq to be worthy of these Verses and give us courage and vision to plan and work accordingly. O Allah! Give us Tawfeeq to prepare our own playground and invite Batil to come and play in it and get its head “crashed” as Qur’an ordains in Verse #18 of Surah Al-Ambiyah: “fa-Iza-huwa Zahequn” [It is destined to be evaporated]
Shamim A Siddiqi
September 3, 2004